Foam materials are typically produced by incorporating a foaming agent in a batch of plastic. If such multicellular material could be produced using any of a wide variety of molten materials including metals, and a wide variety and pressures of gases within the cells, a variety of lightweight materials could be obtained. The strength of the material and articles made from it can be enhanced, by closely controlling the relative placement and sizes of the cells to prevent voids that can constitute weakened regions of an article constructed from the material, and by avoiding fatigue-susceptible planes across which the material may be sheared after being subjected to fatigue loading.